Pocket This! by Christopher Congreave and Gary Jones

How about a DVD review for a change. I ordered a few magic things the other day. An this DVD was in there as a freebie. "Pocket This!" by Christopher Congreave and Gary Jones. Never heard of it. Apparently "Professional Card to Pocket Routines".

Really? Lets see!

At first I feared it is one of those DVD's were the emphasis is on non palming techniques. Oh no, turns out this is real world material. With actually skill required.

This first thing I noticed is that both performers obviously have a performing background and that both are annoying. In a UK way of annoying. Christopher Congreave more than Gary Jones. One has to get used to this constant making fun of the other person. But if you look past it and see the routines you are in for a pleasant surprise. Repeated Card to Pocket, Multiple Card to Pocket and Pocket to Pocket. A few things are rather weak, like the Two Card Transpo by Christopher Congreave. His approach and solution to the problem has probably been created and done by every magician who plays around palming cards.

It is hard to watch that DVD in one sitting, because of camera man who had a seizure or something. Constant zooming in and out, and tilting the camera. I had to reduce the size of the window on my PC as not to get motion sick. This is atrocious.

But back to the content. By far the best routine on the DVD is Gary Jones' Repeat Signed Card to Pocket. I have tried my own version of that, but failed as it never clicked with me. Gary's version solves a lot of problems I had while constructing a routine. In his version three cards are signed and then appear in different pockets. Instantly they jump back to the pockets. The method used is pretty efficient and the structure gets to the point quickly. In the end all of the cards end up in a wallet. Solid workable ending. You can clearly sense that this routine is road tested.

My own card to pocket is very, very standard. First the signed card goes a few times, then the deck. Not on that DVD.

So would I recommend this. Yes, to all that are real workers and can stand atrocious camera work, loud and heavy breathing and the UK performing style.

BTW. There is no footage of them performing for real people. If you are bothered by that "issue" you are not a real pro.

Of all the free magic stuff that comes to my house this was surprisingly good and I would probably have paid for it.

I'm actually interested in more stuff by Gary Jones in particular. Weird how he got on my radar.

Episode 11 "Razor's Edge"

Click here for a more detailed review

As usual if you have something you want reviewed, then let me know. Are you a creator of a cool magic trick and you want and honest review? Do you have some weird prop lying around and you want people to know about it? Shoot me an email! I will review everything I get.

Episode 10 "RED"

Click here for a more detailed review

As usual if you have something you want reviewed, then let me know. Are you a creator of a cool magic trick and you want and honest review? Do you have some weird prop lying around and you want people to know about it? Shoot me an email! I will review everything I get.

Episode 9 "Vortex"

Click here for a more detailed review

As usual if you have something you want reviewed, then let me know. Are you a creator of a cool magic trick and you want and honest review? Do you have some weird prop lying around and you want people to know about it? Shoot me an email! I will review everything I get.

Episode 8 "Freaky Body Illusions"

Click here for a more detailed review

As usual if you have something you want reviewed, then let me know. Are you a creator of a cool magic trick and you want and honest review? Do you have some weird prop lying around and you want people to know about it? Shoot me an email! I will review everything I get.

Episode 7 "The Turbo Tube"

Click here for a more detailed review

As usual if you have something you want reviewed, then let me know. Are you a creator of a cool magic trick and you want and honest review? Do you have some weird prop lying around and you want people to know about it? Shoot me an email! I will review everything I get.

Episode 6 "Stolen Cards"

Click here for a more detailed review

Episode 5 "The Gorilla Grip Balls"

Click here for a more detailed review

Episode 4 "Magus Capsule"

Click here for a more detailed review

Episode 3 "Just A Cup"

Click here for a more detailed review

Episode 2 "Stash"

Click here for a more detailed review

BTW: Celebration... 1000th post

Episode 1 "Ritual"

Click here for a more detailed review

The Secret Art of Magic

Haven't done a serious book review in a while. So here I offer you a book on magic theory which is way underrated in my humble opinion. The Secret Art of Magic by Eric Evans and Nowlin Craver. It's been originally published by "Magic To Laugh By" in 2003. Reprints are still available for 45 dollars.

The book is basically separated into two parts. Each part stands on it's own. Both are about approaching the classic work "The Art of War" by Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu and applying it's principles to magic. What may sound a little weird actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it. Magic is a bit of a war. You are fighting for a certain goal. That goal is deception. War is all about deception and its time honored strategies are all about dispersion.



The first part, "Street Magic and The Art of War" written by Eric Evans probably is the more accessible part. Eric wrote:

I am not much of a fighter. I prefer to think of street performance, or for that matter any performance of magic, as a tactical war. A war only won by identifying and executing sound principles. As the magician, I become the general, and to some degree, the sovereign; the tricks are my weapons; and the audience is, at different times, the land to be conquered, my opponent, and my allies. Thus, tactics and strategies are my primary concern for a successful campaign.

Pretty esoteric one would think at first glance. But Eric takes the subject and shows that the principles of war do in fact apply to magic. The whole first part is about how the strategies can be used to improve street magic. The terms Laying Plans, Terrain, Offensive Strategy, Espionage and Attack by Fire sure sound like military terms, but they do have magic counter parts. (Trick Selection, Pitch, Stopping People, Hecklers and Festivals in case you wondered).

It's a great book if you want to become a really, really good busker. You can learn it slowly the hard way by making your own experiences, or you can drastically shorten the time by adding the knowledge of the book with your own experiences.

The second part of the book, written by Nowlin Craver probably is where most of you would raise an eyebrow. In order to understand it you need to know about "The Thirty-Six Stratagems" a compilation of 36 military ruses. Fist one: Lure the Tiger from the Mountain, second one: Conceal a Dagger Behind Smile and so on. These strategies are applied to magic. Nowlin Craver really tried to put it all into focus. His main epiphany was that those strategies don't describe war tactics, but more or less tactics of dispersion. We magicians use misdirection all the time. Think about it. Misdirection is much more than looking to the left and doing something with the right hand. Having a spectator examine the cups prior to the performance of the cups and balls is important, as you don't want the audience to think that the cups have something to do with the routine. How is that misdirection. Well, misdirection has two functions. First making you look away from the secret and second, to make you look at the effect. If the cups are not examined before the lemons appear, the effect has less impact. In order to make the effect (the military strike) have as much impact as possible you need to know that no lemons where there before. The more surprised the enemy is, the quicker the battle ends. Or to use magic terms: The more surprised the audience, the stronger the effect. Sounds simple! Well it is!

The Secret Art Of Magic is a great little book. I have not met many people who have read it. If you are serious about magic, if you wanna become good in the proper routine construction for your sleight of hand routines, you better read that book. More than once!

Get Gigs & Keep Clients

One side of a professional magician is the business side of things. And one of the smartest business decision I ever made was to admit to myself that I suck at doing business. So I outsourced my business and got me a manager. And by that I mean my gf took over and does all the scheduling and pricing.
But not everyone is so smart. And some might actually have business skills and even like doing that. Learning about how to get gig and how to talk to clients and how to get higher fees for your work is information that doesn't fall from the sky. You can get books on how to create promotion material and how to cold call businesses offering your magic service. But you still need to find out how to apply all this available knowledge to magic.
This work has been done before so one would be stupid not to benefit from it.

A few weeks ago Theory 11 started "The Wire" a marketplace where magic creators can sell their stuff. Theory 11 takes 40% of the sales. Which is a huge amount. But that shall be discussed later. In the General Magic section an eBook is sold. "Get Gigs & Keep Clients" The author: William Draven. He is no stranger to this blog. In fact he used to be a Weekly Magic Failure for exposure. Since then he has evolved a lot. To a point where he actually knows what he is talking about.

A few weeks ago he approached me, asking me if I review books. I told him that yes I would, if I can be totally honest about it. So he send me the eBook that is now sold for 24.95 dollars via "The Wire".

I read it. I read the whole darn thing. And I hate it. I totally hate it, yet I ask you to get this!

Here is why. Basically this book tells me all the things I am doing wrong on the business side of things. Now I need to change my business cards, because they contain my address and all of that shit.

Also the book tells you in a very unflattering way to become a telemarketer and to cold call businesses to offer your service. It tells you how to avoid talking to the wrong people and how to get and talk to the right people.

The book is very upfront that way and gets to the point quickly. The whole book is constantly telling you not to think like a magician, but like a business man. And I hate that. But I see the necessity in that. If you wanna be a professional magician, that means making money with what you like doing most, you gotta do something that your probably won't like doing at all.

It sucks all the fun out of the magic in a way. But I have no doubt that the techniques offered in this book (85 whooping pages) will make you a more successful magician in the long run.

Sadly very few will actually buy the book. Hell, if I hadn't got the book for free I wouldn't have got it. And sadly "The Wire" is probably be the worst place for this valuable information. For a few reasons. First: It's a book. "The Wire" consumers don't read books. They want it all in nice video chunks. Second: It's theory. There is no new gimmick offered. No magicians fooler. Not even pretty pictures (OK, a few) Third: It's not about magic. It's about magic business. Now think about it. Who in the right mind will want that...

Well only who is "in the right mind". So I do something that I rarely do here on my blog. I am telling you to get this book. I am telling you to read it and to apply this to your professional business.

I don't get paid and yet I am endorsing this product. I am actively telling you to get this book from a guy whom I introduced to you with the following lines: "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck you. Really, Fuck you Wayne Phelps, aka William Draven. Fuck you and your greasy hairdo."

The book is that good.

So Penn Jillette wrote a book. "God No!"

A while ago I got an email by the publishers of Penn Jillett's upcoming book "God, No! - Signs You May Aleady By An Atheist And Other Magical Tales". I was asked if I care to review this book and publish the result on my blog. My initial response... "Yeah, send me the sucker and I'll review it." A few days later I received the book. And now I fear I have to write the review so I get more free books in the future.

Let's start with the basics. It's not a book about magic. It's 24.99 dollars and a little more that 200 pages thick. There are no pictures and it contains lot's of swearing. But this is not what people tend to be interested in. So let's talk about the content.

Basically its a whole bunch of short stories from Penn Jillette's life that are told to illustrate how people lose faith and how becoming an atheist is a better alternative than sticking to religions.

Penn goes out by telling stories about his parties, how he met his wife, how he used to be a dishwasher and so on. His writing style is very verbose. If you are the type of person not being bothered by this you will have a much easier time going through the book. I tend to love sweet, short, to the point stories. The subtitle of the book made me think there maybe a checklist. But as verbose as it maybe, it is well written and entertaining. Not quite what I expected.

The book gives you a brief glimpse into the minds of people who are unhappy with their belief. And "unhappy" might not be the best word to describe it, but I fail to find another one, as I'm not as eloquent as Penn Jillette, who seems to try to prove on every page how many tiny little details he remembers.

I am torn. I cried when I read the chapter about lying, which centers around Penn and how he lost his father, his mother and his sister. I honestly cried. And you will too, if you don't have a heart made of ice. I will never see a bunch of balloons rising towards the sky the same way.

Honesty, this is what the book boils down to. Penn Jillette maybe overdoing it a bit sometimes, but you can feel the honesty. When he tells you that he doesn't lie to his kids about Santa Claus, I believe he is telling the truth. And when he tells people that telling your children about how there is a Santa is a bad thing, I believe, that he truly believes it is a bad thing. My own opinion about it is different. But I don't have to share Penn's opinion in order to enjoy his book.

Penn Jillette is an extremist. And sometimes we need extremists. And sometimes we need a book written by an extremist. And as long as the extremist is a good person I have absolutely no problem with him/her. Penn is a good person. And reading through the book you will understand, that behind foul languages and atheist beliefs lies good human being with honest moral opinions and a big heart.

So here is my verdict: The book is enjoyable and it is a good starting point if you a generally interested in the thought processes of an atheist. It will probably not be what you expect and at times you will wish Penn Jillette would stay on topic. But aside from that you will be forced to make up your own damn mind. And you will understand, why saying "I don't know" is not a bad thing. In fact it is the first step. -

- I am sure I was not the only one who got a copy of the book to review. And having read the book I am glad to have been and to still be a small little gear in the hype machine. So if I had to rate this book I would give it one of the highest rating that is possible using the Internet lingo. I will "Like" this on Facebook.

The book will "appear" in two days.